The Life of S Thomas A Becket of Canterbury
The Life of S Thomas A Becket of Canterbury
Overview
IT ought not to be hard to read the character of S. Thomas of Canterbury, nor to understand for what cause he shed his blood. Ranke, with simply honest endeavour, has comprehended both. Speaking of Henry, he says: "He did not choose to allow the Church freedom of election to high ecclesiastical dignities; he would not permit her excommunications to proceed without the supervision of the State. Not only did he insist on the right of the civil tribunals to judge ecclesiastics for great crimes, which would otherwise have been left unpunished, but in the sphere of spiritual jurisdiction he claimed for the State the right of being the highest court of appeal, instead of the Pope." Of S. Thomas himself the same historian says: "Becket was not actuated by the same unbending obstinacy which characterizes most of the champions of the hierarchy." All this is quite clear and silnple, and ought to be seen by anyone who takes the trouble to study the question. S. Thomas died for the liberty of the Church. It was only after great struggles with himself, with early prejudices and affections, that the saint saw nothing was left for him but to lay down his life for the cause of Christ and His Church. History alone ought to enable even a Protestant to understand at least the momentousness of the issue. Henry wished practically to sever England from the Holy See, and to cripple the spiritual power of the Church-the only power on earth, besides material force, which the king and his wicked barons respected. Now, wherever the Church of a country is enslaved by the State, and separated from Rome, one of two things follows. In a country like ours at this day, which believes in no Church, the State allows the wildest and most ridiculous licence of opinion. In a believing nation, on the contrary, as England was then, the State wields the authority of the Church for her own purposes, and enslaves the intellect and the soul of its subjects, as Russia does now. It was to avert the latter degradation from England that S. Thomas died. Now, really it is not too much to ask of men who write on the subject to see that this was something worth dying for, even though they may prefer the present supremacy of the Queen, and its consequences. Above all, men who profess to write history ought at least to state that for which he did die, and not something totally different, or ludicrously short of it. What he shed his blood for was to prevent England, Ireland, and half France from becoming in the twelfth century what Moscow is now: this was a cause worth dying for. Most writers, on the contrary, and even some Catholics, represent him as contending only for clerical immunity from secular tribunals; which was only the occasion, and a very small, though not unimportant, part of the contest. The worst offender, however-who is most offensive, precisely because, from his qualities of head and heart, he ought to know better-is Dean Stanley. Any one reading his lecture on the murder of Becket in his "Memorials of Canterbury" might suppose that the saint died because of a squabble between the sees of Canterbury and York, and because he excommunicated the Brocs for poaching on his manors and docking the tails of his horses and mules. The Dean's conception of S. Thomas of Canterbury is worthy of being placed side by side with the Becket of the Ingoldsby Legend of the "Prior of Birchington." It might seem invidious to notice what, after all, is only a lecture ad populum, if it were not a type of a whole class of compositions which tend perhaps more than any other to falsify the truth of history. The fact is worth dwelling upon.Description
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- Used - Good: All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.
- Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable.
Note: Some electronic material access codes are valid only for one user. For this reason, used books, including books listed in the Used – Like New condition, may not come with functional electronic material access codes.
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- Gift cards
- Downloadable software products
- Some health and personal care items
To complete your return, we require a tracking number, which shows the items which you already returned to us.
There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted (if applicable)
- Book with obvious signs of use
- CD, DVD, VHS tape, software, video game, cassette tape, or vinyl record that has been opened
- Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error
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Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary.
If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.
Overview
IT ought not to be hard to read the character of S. Thomas of Canterbury, nor to understand for what cause he shed his blood. Ranke, with simply honest endeavour, has comprehended both. Speaking of Henry, he says: "He did not choose to allow the Church freedom of election to high ecclesiastical dignities; he would not permit her excommunications to proceed without the supervision of the State. Not only did he insist on the right of the civil tribunals to judge ecclesiastics for great crimes, which would otherwise have been left unpunished, but in the sphere of spiritual jurisdiction he claimed for the State the right of being the highest court of appeal, instead of the Pope." Of S. Thomas himself the same historian says: "Becket was not actuated by the same unbending obstinacy which characterizes most of the champions of the hierarchy." All this is quite clear and silnple, and ought to be seen by anyone who takes the trouble to study the question. S. Thomas died for the liberty of the Church. It was only after great struggles with himself, with early prejudices and affections, that the saint saw nothing was left for him but to lay down his life for the cause of Christ and His Church. History alone ought to enable even a Protestant to understand at least the momentousness of the issue. Henry wished practically to sever England from the Holy See, and to cripple the spiritual power of the Church-the only power on earth, besides material force, which the king and his wicked barons respected. Now, wherever the Church of a country is enslaved by the State, and separated from Rome, one of two things follows. In a country like ours at this day, which believes in no Church, the State allows the wildest and most ridiculous licence of opinion. In a believing nation, on the contrary, as England was then, the State wields the authority of the Church for her own purposes, and enslaves the intellect and the soul of its subjects, as Russia does now. It was to avert the latter degradation from England that S. Thomas died. Now, really it is not too much to ask of men who write on the subject to see that this was something worth dying for, even though they may prefer the present supremacy of the Queen, and its consequences. Above all, men who profess to write history ought at least to state that for which he did die, and not something totally different, or ludicrously short of it. What he shed his blood for was to prevent England, Ireland, and half France from becoming in the twelfth century what Moscow is now: this was a cause worth dying for. Most writers, on the contrary, and even some Catholics, represent him as contending only for clerical immunity from secular tribunals; which was only the occasion, and a very small, though not unimportant, part of the contest. The worst offender, however-who is most offensive, precisely because, from his qualities of head and heart, he ought to know better-is Dean Stanley. Any one reading his lecture on the murder of Becket in his "Memorials of Canterbury" might suppose that the saint died because of a squabble between the sees of Canterbury and York, and because he excommunicated the Brocs for poaching on his manors and docking the tails of his horses and mules. The Dean's conception of S. Thomas of Canterbury is worthy of being placed side by side with the Becket of the Ingoldsby Legend of the "Prior of Birchington." It might seem invidious to notice what, after all, is only a lecture ad populum, if it were not a type of a whole class of compositions which tend perhaps more than any other to falsify the truth of history. The fact is worth dwelling upon.Description
Condition Guidelines
Books - New and Used
The following guidelines apply to books:
- New: A brand-new copy with cover and original protective wrapping intact. Books with markings of any kind on the cover or pages, books marked as "Bargain" or "Remainder," or with any other labels attached, may not be listed as New condition.
- Used - Good: All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.
- Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, but the text cannot be obscured or unreadable.
Note: Some electronic material access codes are valid only for one user. For this reason, used books, including books listed in the Used – Like New condition, may not come with functional electronic material access codes.
Shipping & Delivery
Shipping Fees
- Stevens Books offers FREE SHIPPING everywhere in the United States for ALL non-book orders, and $3.99 for each book.
- Packages are shipped from Monday to Friday.
- No additional fees and charges.
Delivery Times
The usual time for processing an order is 24 hours (1 business day), but may vary depending on the availability of products ordered. This period excludes delivery times, which depend on your geographic location.
Estimated delivery times:
- Standard Shipping: 5-8 business days
- Expedited Shipping: 3-5 business days
Shipping method varies depending on what is being shipped.
Tracking
All orders are shipped with a tracking number. Once your order has left our warehouse, a confirmation e-mail with a tracking number will be sent to you. You will be able to track your package at all times.
Damaged Parcel
If your package has been delivered in a PO Box, please note that we are not responsible for any damage that may result (consequences of extreme temperatures, theft, etc.).
If you have any questions regarding shipping or want to know about the status of an order, please contact us or email to support@stevensbooks.com.
Returns & Refunds
You may return most items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
Several types of goods are exempt from being returned. Perishable goods such as food, flowers, newspapers or magazines cannot be returned. We also do not accept products that are intimate or sanitary goods, hazardous materials, or flammable liquids or gases.
Additional non-returnable items:
- Gift cards
- Downloadable software products
- Some health and personal care items
To complete your return, we require a tracking number, which shows the items which you already returned to us.
There are certain situations where only partial refunds are granted (if applicable)
- Book with obvious signs of use
- CD, DVD, VHS tape, software, video game, cassette tape, or vinyl record that has been opened
- Any item not in its original condition, is damaged or missing parts for reasons not due to our error
- Any item that is returned more than 30 days after delivery
Items returned to us as a result of our error will receive a full refund,some returns may be subject to a restocking fee of 7% of the total item price, please contact a customer care team member to see if your return is subject. Returns that arrived on time and were as described are subject to a restocking fee.
Items returned to us that were not the result of our error, including items returned to us due to an invalid or incomplete address, will be refunded the original item price less our standard restocking fees.
If the item is returned to us for any of the following reasons, a 15% restocking fee will be applied to your refund total and you will be asked to pay for return shipping:
- Item(s) no longer needed or wanted.
- Item(s) returned to us due to an invalid or incomplete address.
- Item(s) returned to us that were not a result of our error.
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, please Contact Us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return. We will respond quickly with instructions for how to return items from your order.
Shipping Cost
We'll pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.). In other cases, you will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item. Shipping costs are non-refundable. If you receive a refund, the cost of return shipping will be deducted from your refund.
Depending on where you live, the time it may take for your exchanged product to reach you, may vary.
If you are shipping an item over $75, you should consider using a trackable shipping service or purchasing shipping insurance. We don’t guarantee that we will receive your returned item.
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